Currently, gateway types in a network are diversified, and a gateway of each type has a signaling packet processing capability that is distinctive and fixed. The signaling packet processing capability of the gateway mainly includes forwarding a signaling packet and responding to a signaling packet. The signaling packet processing capability of the current gateway is distinctive and fixed, that is, a processing procedure used when the current gateway processes a signaling packet is distinctive and fixed. Therefore, when the network needs to support a new protocol, a gateway currently deployed in the network may not be able to process a new-protocol-based signaling packet, and the network needs to deploy a gateway that can forward the new-protocol-based signaling packet, thereby increasing network costs.